What skills can't you live without?

[ccexplore]

Mayhem 12:

- the "near side" solution using ClamSpammer's glitches uses 1 builder, 3 diggers, and 1 basher.  Unfortunately that builder is needed here to setup the necessary glitch.

- It's possible to solve the level without diggers, using miners where applicable.  The ceiling route for example lends readily to this, although it's possible to do it without the ceiling route for a glitch-free solution (attached).

- It's also possible solve the level without bashers.  You will need to use the glitch of getting a climber stuck.  See attached solution.

(Screenshots included in zip file).

Final result: 1 builder

[namida]

Taxing 1, 6 builders is obvious. Is a basher also nessecary or can it be done without bashers?

Taxing 2, I've attached two replays that between them, eliminate every skill except for one builder.

Taxing 3 is however many builders is needed to get a path to the exit (unless you can do it in fewer with sliding, maybe?). You can create a holding area without builders by using the dig-on-same-spot trick, and using a climber who then digs and bashes to release the crowd. The level is possible with builders only, so no non-builder skill is essential.

Taxing 4, a normal solution can be done with either miners, or diggers and bashers, to get the two sides together, and apart from that, only builders are needed. So, what's the fewest amount of builders it can be done with? It seems to be... 3, by using almost every other skill, and TONS of glitch abuse (starts with blockers pushing lemmings into walls, then there's steel glitches, lemmings walking through blockers by coming up under a blocker on an edge, and concludes with a good old slide straight up to the exit).

Taxing 5, I'll leave this to someone else.

[Minim]

Alright, I'll try Taxing 5 then.

Solved without blockers, bombers, 7 builders so far... I think it works without diggers as well although I didn't do it manually. Can it be solved with just one basher even though there are two walls?

Improved to 6 builders, replay is here just in case...

[namida]

No chance. You need a seperate basher for the walls in the middle and the walls by the exit. By going the high route, though, you can get through the entire middle column with just one basher, if that's what you mean.

However, you can probably eliminate the bashers altogether by using diggers and/or bombers to get through the walls.

[Minim]

No chance.

Ha-ha I did get it in one basher. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/winktounge.gif" alt=";P" title="Wink-Tongue" class="smiley" /> Although I forgot the replay here's what I've done.

Blockers and bombers (2 of each) for the first wall and for the other I dug the left side of the column, bashed the exit floor, turned round and built a rescue bridge (I've somehow created a gap between the stair and the exit platform. At the start I've decided to create a safety bridge on the right to stop the lemmings falling)

[namida]

Sorry, but I can one-up you on that.

Attached: Taxing 5 with no bashers.

Note that the huge builder stacking right at the end isn't actually nessecary, I just couldn't be bothered timing the bomber.

So, if no one can improve on your 6 builders run, then I'd say the essential skills for this level stands at that: 6 builders.

However, I think 5 may be possible... but it'd require excellent timing, so I'm leaving that one to the experts. 4 is out of the question.

[ccexplore]

Taxing 1, 6 builders is obvious. Is a basher also nessecary or can it be done without bashers?

I really doubt it.  No basher means no ceiling or underground route to bypass the 3 pillars.  A pillar's width is 34, which can be breached with 2 diggers (9 pixels each) and 1 bomber (16 pixels), and you might even be able to get your bomber into the correct position for that using both blockers (who would be freed by one of the digger and the bomber, if you know what I have in mind).  But, you'll then need to use up the remaining 2 builders as well to stop the diggers, and then I don't see how you would get through the remaining 2 pillars with 2 miners and nothing else.  It also takes 3 builders to connect two adjacent pillars so that they can be mined with one miner, but you only have 2 to spare.

[LemSteven]

Taxing 18:  1 builder

The level is possible using just a builder, a bomber, and a basher by bashing through the top of the steel below the OWW.

It is fairly well known that 100% is possible without the basher, so that means the basher and the bombers are not necessary.

[ccexplore]

[On Taxing 5] 4 is out of the question.

Not if you use the right glitch.  See attached (screenshot included).

The real question now is whether 3 builders is possible.  The main issue is the relative lack of bombers and blockers I think, but you might just barely have enough, I'm not sure.  I'll leave that for another time/someone else to try.

[Clam]

Taxing 4, a normal solution can be done with either miners, or diggers and bashers, to get the two sides together, and apart from that, only builders are needed. So, what's the fewest amount of builders it can be done with? It seems to be... 3, by using almost every other skill, and TONS of glitch abuse (starts with blockers pushing lemmings into walls, then there's steel glitches, lemmings walking through blockers by coming up under a blocker on an edge, and concludes with a good old slide straight up to the exit).

Improved to 1 builder. This sees the return of a trick I used a couple of times in the "one of each" thread - and it could come up again in this thread, since obviously if you can do the sliding trick with one builder instead of two, that's going to be of interest.

[LemSteven]

Taxing 6 appears to come down to 1 basher.

No blockers or bombers are used in the 100% solution, and the digger is not used in the standard "bunch 'em up and send 'em through the traps" solution.

But no matter what you do, you're going to need at least one basher to get everyone together.

Also, I might as well mention this obvious one:

Taxing 19 -- 5 bombers.

[Clam]

Crazy 1: 1 blocker
Crazy 2: 1 climber, 3 builders, 1 digger
Crazy 3: 2 bombers
Crazy 4: 6 builders
Crazy 5: 7 builders
Crazy 6: 1 climber, 2 diggers, 5 builders
Crazy 7: 1 climber, 1 floater, 3 builders, 1 basher
Crazy 11: 1 builder http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />

Wow, I completely missed this post somehow. I can improve two of these:

Crazy 2 can be done quite easily without the climber.
Crazy 4: If you build at exactly the right spot, the builder will connect with the top platform and shrug, and then you can get it to climb up. The solution then takes 4 builders in total.

[Clam]

More Crazy:


8: A 4-builders solution was found a long time ago. It looks like you need a basher to get past the crystals, if nothing else. The rest can be done away with easily.
- 4 builders, 1 basher

9: Fairly straightforward to eliminate builders, and then each digging skill in turn. The rest are obviously unnecessary.
- none

10: Basher is obviously required. My least-skills solution cuts out the climber, floater and one builder, and a modification of the ceiling backroute (attached) gets away without using the blocker. My RR99 solution (attached here since I never posted it before) doesn't use the bomber. (This exploits the poor positioning of the trigger areas, and of course doesn't have to be done with RR99.)
- 7 builders, 1 basher

12: 2 builders needed for obvious reasons. It takes 3 bombers to get down safely to the ground, and another 2 to get through the pillars - but you can only lose 5 lemmings, and there aren't enough skills left to control the rest of the lemmings without using at least one basher.
- 2 builders, 1 basher

13: The least skills solution uses the digger, miner and 2 builders. The standard solution (at least as I see it) uses no builders.
- 1 miner, 1 digger

14: Fairly exclusive solution, only the climber and floaters can be cut out.
- 2 blockers, 4 builders, 2 bashers, 1 digger

15: Simple backroute by digging next to the steel takes 3 builders, and doesn't require the climber and bomber. Direct drop route uses no diggers.
- 3 builders

16: One builder is obviously needed. Everything else can be done away with - even the bashers.
- 1 builder

[Proxima]

Crazy 17 is confusing me. The minimum skills thread says 8, which surely must mean the ceiling route? (I know the ceiling route is possible on Mac, but the time factor made me think it might not convert to DOS.) But if so, why isn't it 7?

[namida]

The ceiling route is not possible in DOS, not even close.